A health authority in southwest China is investigating claims that a man was forced to have a vasectomy when he was visiting his home town during the Lunar New Year holiday, a newspaper reported.

The man, who had three children from his first marriage and another from his second, was taken away by about a dozen people in charge of family planning when he was visiting friends in Zhenxiong county in Yunnan province on February 8, the Beijing Youth Daily said.

He said he was taken to a government clinic and the operation was forcibly performed. He struggled, but was assaulted by staff, he was quoted as saying.

His family called the police after he was taken away, but officers detained his wife and son instead, according to the article.

His family quoted police as saying that the man would have been placed in detention for 15 days for disturbing public order if he did not have the vasectomy.

The man produced an invoice for carrying out the surgery issued by a family planning clinic in Luokan township in Zhenxiong county.

An official at the county publicity department told the newspaper the man broke the local birth control regulations by having three children in his first marriage and the need for the operation was supported by law.